Shane couldn’t help thinking of the years he’d spent so miserably in his mother’s home, waiting for a call from his father, praying for the visits that had come so rarely. His love for his father had never wavered during those years, but there had been times when he’d wondered why Jared didn’t come home more often. He’d wondered why Jared didn’t realize quite how bad things were in Shane’s childhood home, even when Shane had tried to tell him. And—every once in a while—he’d been a bit angry with his father for not doing more to protect him from his mother’s neglect.
He had never admitted that before. Not even to himself. Kelly had understood his childhood feelings even better than he had himself.
He looked up to find Jared studying him intently. “Are you thinking about Kelly and her father now—or about us?”
Shane winced. His father had always been too damned perceptive. “There might be a few similarities,” he admitted. “You were in the service. You were away a lot. Kelly’s mother had terminal cancer, mine was a hopeless alcoholic. But you were there when I needed you most. You gave up your military career rather than let me go into foster care. And you’ve been a part of my life ever since. You would never have abandoned me the way Kelly’s father did her.”
“There must have been times when you were mad as hell at me—and rightfully so. Your mother and I were young when you were born, and I knew zip about being a father. She and I were so miserable together that I started looking for excuses to stay away. I trusted her to take care of you, even if she didn’t take very good care of herself. I was wrong.”
“You did the best you could.”
“I could have done better. I’ve always regretted that it took an act of desperation on your part to get through to me.”
Jared had never talked like this before about those early years. Shane didn’t quite know what to say in response, except, “I don’t blame you for my mother’s problems or for a stupid court decision. I have never blamed you.”
“I know you don’t. You’ve never blamed m
e for anything—not even when I deserved it. You’ve never given me any trouble and you’ve never resented that I’ve been a better father to Molly than I was to you at her age. You’re a good son, Shane. I’m very proud of you.”
He swallowed hard, touched beyond words by his father’s rare eloquence. “Thanks, Dad.”
“You know, of course, that I’m always here for you now. If there’s anything you want to talk about, I’m ready to listen.”
Shane shifted in his chair, wondering if Jared was simply making a generalized offer or if he suspected that something momentous was going on in his son’s life. There was nothing he would have liked better than to talk with his father about what had happened between him and Kelly. But he had made her a promise, and he couldn’t renege on it now. “Er...no, there’s nothing right now. But thank you.”
Jared nodded acceptance. “Consider it a standing offer. Now, about those newfangled ear tags.”
Shane tried to concentrate again on the order forms, but part of his attention remained on the conversation he’d just had with his father. Odd. That was the second time in recent weeks Jared had made obscure comments Shane hadn’t known how to interpret. Was it only coincidence that the comments had come at a time when his relationship with Kelly was undergoing such a drastic change? Or did Jared know more than he’d admitted about Shane’s feelings for Kelly?
There were times when Shane wondered if Jared knew him better than he knew himself. This was one of those times.
Chapter Twelve
“I’m really sorry I woke you, Kelly. I thought you’d be up by now.”
Since it was a rare day, indeed, when Kelly slept until noon, she wasn’t surprised that Amber hadn’t expected her to still be in bed. She yawned delicately, then held the telephone receiver close to her mouth again. “Don’t worry about it. I was just catching up on some of the sleep I lost during finals.”
“I’m really sorry I disturbed you.”
“Please, stop apologizing. It’s past time for me to get up anyway.” Turning her eyes away from the rumpled bed where her life had changed so dramatically only a few hours earlier, she tried to pay attention to the conversation with her friend. “What’s up?”
“I was just wondering how the party went last night.”
Amber’s unusually subdued tone made Kelly frown in sympathy. She answered carefully. “It was the usual charity dance. Kind of dull. Not a lot of mingling between groups of acquaintances.”
“Did you see Cameron?”
“Yes.”
“Did you...did you meet his date?”
“Yes. She seemed pleasant enough, if a bit too polished—but that’s probably because of her TV job.”
“I’ve seen her on the air. She’s beautiful, isn’t she?”
“She’s attractive,” Kelly admitted. “But then, she has to be, in her line of work.”
“Were she and Cameron...? Did he...?”